


New Daughter

by Darc (GothAlbinoAngel)



Series: Correcting the Family Tree [1]
Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Hades is an awful liar, Mal is a little shit, the older VKs love their kids
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-31
Updated: 2019-08-31
Packaged: 2020-09-27 07:42:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20404120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GothAlbinoAngel/pseuds/Darc
Summary: Hades invites Mal to his sitting room in Castle Beast to tell her some pretty unbelievable and possibly upsetting news. Hopefully, he'll still have his face by the end of the day.





	New Daughter

**Author's Note:**

> I've already outlined why Hades was more musically and aesthetically styled to be Evie's dad, so I figured I might as well make a fic about it.

Hades paced the length of the sitting room as he waited. He knew what he had to do, but he really didn't want to. As if he needed anything on his plate after finally gaining freedom after twenty four years of imprisonment. Unfortunately, with Maleficent no longer in the picture, he needed to clear the air. 

He'd invited Mal to his sitting room to talk about something important. Castle Beast had plenty of sitting rooms and this one had been designated to him specifically, as father of the future queen. That meant they would have the necessary privacy for him to tell her his news. The downside is that if she burned him to a godly crisp, no one would find his carcass until this place started to smell.

The Auradonians would probably laugh if they saw him, antsy with nervousness. They'd probably wonder how anything would be difficult for a villain. In Hades' opinion, they used the word 'villain' far too liberally. If anything, he'd been Hercules' antagonist at most. Besides, what would these snooty Auradon pricks know about something like this anyway?

"Hey, Dad!" Mal called, strolling in. She was dressed for the Isle Arts and Crafts party Jane had scheduled for the day. It was best to wear clothes you didn't mind getting dirty in for those kinds of things. She tossed her bag full of extra supplies off to the side and plopped down on one of the couches. 

"Hey, Mal." Hades guessed it was now or never. He opted to stay standing. He may have been a god, but he was not staying in a room with an enraged dragon.

Mal eyed him for a moment. She could tell something was up and hoped he hadn't done anything too terrible. The last thing she needed was a reason to send him _back _to the Isle. Deciding to just rip the bandage off, she asked, "So, what did you wanna talk about?"

_Right to it, huh?_ Hades clapped his hands together. "Well, uh, there's something I've been... hiding from you."

Mal nodded slowly. "Please tell me you haven't been unfairly stealing souls?"

"First of all, I would like to point out that I don't 'unfairly' steal souls," Hades grumbled. "Mortals just never read the fine print. That's how Queen Ariel nearly fell to Ursula."

"Okay..." Mal rolled her eyes. "Well, if you haven't done anything bad, what's going on?"

Hades took a deep breath. "I have a confession. I lied to you."

Mal waited for more, but Hades seemed hesitant to say anything else, just shifting uncomfortably. "Okay, um, there's not really that much you could've lied about, but... yeah, you still need to be more specific." 

"I'm not your dad," Hades mumbled quickly, rubbing his ear. 

"What now?" Mal blinked. She had to have heard that wrong. 

"I'm, uh... not _actually_... your dad," Hades sighed. "I'm not your father, you're not my daughter, Maleficent and I didn't get far enough for me to have sired you, we... aren't related."

Silence filled the air when he finally stopped talking. Mal stared at him in shock, not quite believing what she'd just heard. Hades fought not to start pacing again. He was not turning his back to Mal right now, no matter how antsy her gaze made him. They continued on for a little longer before Mal stood. 

"Let me get this right," she said slowly. "For ten years, I've been walking around thinking you abandoned me. _Ten years_ of resenting you and wishing you had taken me along with you, wondering why you didn't want me. And now, after I've gotten an amazing life and friends and have a chance to resolve those feelings, you're telling me I had them for _nothing?_"

Well, she wasn't breathing fire yet, so Hades counted this as a win for now. "Uh, yeah, pretty much." Hades cleared his throat. "Yeah, all those feelings are pretty misplaced."

"Why!" Mal demanded. "Why would you lie about that for a decade?"

"Would've been forever if not for your fiancé." Mal's eyes began glowing bright green and Hades held up his hands. "Hey, hey! Your mom wanted this, okay?"

Mal snorted and rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah?"

"She wanted you to have that bitterness and anger growing up." Hades would rather have been literally anywhere else than talking about this, but he'd brought it on himself. "Remember how I told you the issues would make you stronger? Well, that was her idea. It had to be someone you'd believe your mom would actually be around."

"And you just... went along with it?" Mal crossed her arms. "What about asking Celia about me?"

"Oh, that was for my benefit," Hades chuckled. "I was hoping Maleficent's plan would fail. That you'd grow up to have a good heart and reject her insanity." He shot her a smug grin. 

Mal shook her head in disbelief and plopped back down on the couch. "I cannot believe this," she muttered, staring up at the ceiling. "If you weren't my dad, then who the hell was?"

"Diaval," Hades coughed. 

Mal blinked. And blinked again. A chuckle bubbled up her throat. "My mom... and the closest thing she ever came to a best friend?"

"That's right." Danger seemed to have passed so Hades relaxed his stance. "Like I said, she wanted someone you would actually believe."

"No... way..." Mal leaned back. "Yeah, that's pretty unbelievable."

Hades shrugged and leaned against the wall. Thankfully, this hadn't gone as badly as he thought it would. Mal was in disbelief, but she wasn't spitting fireballs. He still had his gorgeous face and she knew the truth. Win-win in his book. 

"Wait!" Mal exclaimed. Something had just occurred to her and she frowned. If he was telling the truth... "But the ember worked for me. I used it to defeat Audrey. If that's the case..."

Right. He'd almost forgotten. "Well, fairies are divine beings," Hades explained. "The ember will work for divine beings, but not other gods. Would be chaos if one god could do the others' jobs, ya know. But, uh, divine beings can use godly objects as they please, with restrictions of course. That's why Ursula could use Triton's trident despite not being related to Poseidon."

"So, I could defeat Audrey, but not bring her back from the dead because I'm a divine being, but not godly?" That was the most believable thing so far. "So... you didn't have _any_ kids on the Isle?"

Hades shifted and chuckled. _That's what I **thought** until..._ "Uh, nope. Don't think so."

Mal's eyes narrowed. He was getting shifty. "You totally did. Do they know?"

"Look," Hades said quickly. "This isn't the same situation, okay? In my defense, I didn't know until you opened the barrier."

"So, some poor Isle kid also went who knows how long without a dad." Mal snorted. "You really _are_ bad at this parenting thing."

"Hey, the Greek Pantheon has _never_ boasted great parenting. Zeus, moron that he is, lost his own son for sixteen years."

_That's fair_, Mal conceded. She sat up straighter. "So? Who do you think it is?"

...

Carlos grinned as he and Jane set up the last table. "The kids are gonna love arts and crafts," he told her. "It's gonna get super messy, but it'll be _so_ worth it."

"I can't wait to see their faces," Jane squealed. "I still remember you, Jay, Evie, and Mal's first times doing this stuff."

"Mal and Evie absolutely dominated, as usual," Carlos chuckled. "Jay and I were absolute messes."

"But you all were adorable," Jane said sweetly as she finished setting out the paint. "I can only imagine how the kids'll be."

A shout caught their attention and they spotted a limo in the parking lot. Jay stepped out with a grin. "Delivery of a couple dozen kids," he laughed. 

Carlos and Jane watched the kids spill out of the limo and glanced to one another. There were a lot more than anticipated. "I hope we brought enough supplies," Carlos muttered. 

"I'll just duplicate if we get low," Jane reassured him. "Get ready to get dirty."

Squealing and peals of laughter filled the park air as the kids all picked tables. Jane hadn't wanted to miss a thing, so there were plenty of things for the kids to do. Filled with paint, sketch pencils, crayons, clay, glue, popsicle sticks, markers, and plenty of canvas to go around, the tables were more than ready for the party.

Jay joined Carlos and Jane in watching the chaos unfold. "Where's everyone else?" he asked. "They're missing all the fun."

"Lonnie, Evie, and Doug are on their way," Carlos replied, ducking a popsicle stick. "Ben should be finished with his meeting soon. He'll be bringing Uma and Harry along, too. And Hades wanted Mal for something, so she stayed at the castle a little longer."

Jane sidestepped a clay ball and cocked her head. "If it's a father-daughter thing, they should come when they're finished. Mal is one of the best artisans in Auradon."

A shiny blue limo pulled into the parking lot and Jay chuckled. "And here comes the other one. Prepare to watch a miracle at work."

The passenger side front door opened before the limo even fully stopped and Evie stepped out. Lonnie rolled out of one of the back doors to join her. Doug kept going to find a parking spot. 

Jane stared at Evie's outfit. While Lonnie had workout clothes on, already worn and faded with use and age, Evie was wearing one of her usual, worth hundreds of dollars, outfits. "Is she insane?" Jane hissed to Carlos and Jay. "She's gonna have to make an exact copy of that outfit by the end of the day!" Jay only chuckled while Carlos patted Jane's shoulder soothingly. 

Evie strode over to her friends with a giddy grin. "Look at them!" she squealed. "They're having a blast!" She counted tables and looked to all of her friends. "We should split the tables between us so none of us are overwhelmed. And it'll make it easier to trade off if we have any problems."

"Good call," Lonnie agreed as Doug joined them. She quickly ducked a crayon. "Otherwise, someone might lose an eye."

Evie grinned and stepped forward. Jay and Carlos stopped Lonnie and Jane from joining her. "Check this out," Carlos chuckled. The girls stared at him in confusion and turned to Evie. Evie walked between the tables easily. Nothing flew in her direction, the kids were careful with their messy hands when she walked by, and Evie was perfectly calm as she settled the kids down.

"Whoa," Lonnie breathed. "She acts like such a normal person, it's so easy to forget she's a princess."

"Right?" Jay laughed, making his way into the fray. "We can't figure out how she does it."

"Evie's got a magic all her own," Carlos shrugged, leading Jane and Lonnie into the war zone.

...

"What!" Mal exclaimed. "Seriously?"

"I mean, it's pretty obvious," Hades pointed out. "Everything clicks."

Mal eyed him suspiciously. "I think everyone should know."

"What!" Hades hopped up. "Absolutely not! You hated my guts for _ten years_ because you thought I abandoned you!"

"Yeah but you didn't _know_ this time!" Mal reminded him. "Hard to be a dad to a kid you don't even know about."

Hades groaned. "But do I _have_ to? We're both happy now. I don't want to ruin that by claiming another kid."

Mal's eyes glowed green and she growled, "You _will_ confess to everything you told me or so help me, I'll lock you up again."

_That's just too cruel_, Hades internally grumbled. "Fine!" he grunted. "Bring the ember. We'll need to prove it."

Mal nodded and checked to be sure the ember was in her pocket. She'd taken to carrying it everywhere just in case trouble broke out. Feeling the warmth on her thigh, she took a deep breath. "Okay. Everyone should be at the VK crafts party. I'm driving."

Hades pouted but made no complaint as he followed now to the limo. The drive was held in tense silence. Hades wondered what he was going to say and Mal wondered how the news would be taken. All things considered, there was no telling what the outcome of all this would be.

Pulling into Nymphic Park, Mal took a deep breath and climbed out. The kids looked to be having a great time, art supplies flying in every direction. Mal glanced around and spotted all of her friends moving between the tables and helping the kids with their projects. She noted that, like usual, Evie was the only one without a speck on her.

Evie looked up and smiled. Mal had arrived, and she'd brought Hades along with her. The more the merrier! It was nice seeing them rekindling their relationship and this would be a perfect opportunity for Hades to see Mal's skills in action. She straightened and made her way toward them.

Hades whistled as he watched Evie come closer. "Quite a feat to survive this chaos unscathed."

"She's always been able to do that," Mal chuckled. "Avoid ruining an immaculate outfit under almost any circumstance. Not even the princesses or Royal Court can do it."

"Hey, you two!" Evie called. "Glad you could make it, Mal. Hades, a pleasure to see you here as well. I hope you'll join us."

Neither said anything for a moment before Hades decided to jump on in. "Hey, baby girl," he said with a smile. Hopefully it masked how nervous he was.

Evie blinked at him and Mal resisted the urge to facepalm. "Um," Evie coughed, looking between Mal and Hades in confusion. "Is this a new... trying to be good thing?"

Now, Mal did facepalm. Definitely the wrong way to start. Taking the ember from her pocket, she held it out to Evie. "Mind holding this for me, E?" she asked. "I don't want him anywhere near it for a while."

"Yeah, sure." Evie reached out for the ember. The second she touched it, a burst of magic erupted from her body. Flowers sprouted around her in a wide circle, covering even the area under the craft tables. Heads craned to see what had happened and Jay and Carlos jogged over.

"What's going on?" Carlos asked, on full alert.

Hades and Mal stared at Evie. Small flames flickered in her hair as blue highlights streaked through it. Everyone stared at her in awe and Evie eyed the ember in her hands, puzzled.

"I guess that answers that question," Hades huffed.

"What question?" Evie asked, looking up at him. "What's going on?"

"The exact thing we're wondering," a voice called.

In all the excitement, no one had seen Ben's limo drive up. He, Fairy Godmother, Uma, and Harry all walked closer. "What just happened?" Uma demanded.

All eyes switched to Evie, who looked at Mal, who glared at Hades. Hades sighed. _You brought this on yourself_, he reminded himself. "Uh, turns out, Evie's... my daughter."

No one moved for a long second, letting the information digest. Then Jay asked, "So Mal and Evie are sisters?"

"Nope," Mal clarified. "Because it also turns out, I'm _not_ his daughter."

"What!" Uma exclaimed. "That's not possible. The ember wouldn't have worked if you weren't his daughter!"

Fairy Godmother cleared her throat. "It _would_ be possible for a divine being, like... a fairy."

"That's why the full powers wouldn't work for Mal," Hades added. "They would only work for me... and my offspring." He looked to the still-shocked Evie.

Evie wasn't sure what to make of the new information. Mal wasn't Hades' daughter? Hades was her father? The ember recognized her as its owner? This was a lot to take in. And what did it make her? A demigod? Princess of the Underworld?

Taking a deep breath, Evie let it out slowly. Her friends waited expectantly. Everyone blinked when she turned back toward the kids. "Be careful with those scissors, Vita," she called, tucking the ember into her pocket. "I don't want you to get hurt. Khana, strengthen your foundation or the structure will crumble."

She strolled back toward the tables and the kids almost immediately began their ruckus again. Everyone watched her go and Hades threw his hands up. "Great. She hates me."

"Don't be so dramatic," Mal huffed. "She's just compartmentalizing. Kids first, you second. Just... wait until after the party to talk to her about it."

Hades rolled his eyes, but conceded. Mal spelled him into clothes better suited for the situation and turned to the rest of her friends with a grin.

"Alright, let's get in there and get messy!' Mal cheered, everyone heading for the tables.

Mal, naturally, chose the table with paint and Hades grinned, deciding this couldn't hurt for now. Besides, he got to hang out with all the kiddos. He couldn't argue with that. A paintball hit the back of his shirt and he was suddenly grateful Mal had spelled him into a new outfit. It was still better than dealing with baby Hercules, though.


End file.
